Fact Check: Saudi Fire Not Caused by Yemeni Attack, Video is From UAE

Claims circulating on social media that a fire in Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia, was the result of an attack by Yemen's Ansarullah group have been debunked. Videos showing black smoke billowing from a burning area were shared on Facebook and Instagram, with one Indonesian account stating the city was "still engulfed in flames after an attack by Yemen's Ansarullah this morning."

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The city of Al-Baha in Saudi Arabia is still engulfed in flames after an attack by Yemen's Ansarullah this morning.

The footage emerged amid heightened military tensions between Yemen's Houthi group and Saudi Arabia in mid-July 2026. However, Tempo's Fact Check Team investigated the claims using reverse image search, geolocation, and credible media reports.

Their investigation found the video was not related to the Middle East conflict. The original footage was uploaded to YouTube on August 7, 2020, with the title indicating a market fire in Ajman, United Arab Emirates. An Arabic-language news portal, Aawsat, reported a market fire in Ajman's industrial area on August 5, 2020, attributing it to a spark among flammable goods rather than sabotage.

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The original video came from a YouTube account named Abdul Waheed and was uploaded on August 7, 2020. The video title states that the incident was a market fire in Ajman, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Further verification using Google Street View confirmed similarities between the video's location and a fruit and vegetable shop in the Al Waha shopping center in Ajman. Tempo concluded that the claim of a Yemeni attack causing the Saudi fire was false, identifying the video as originating from a 2020 incident in the UAE.

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The report noted that the fire was not the result of sabotage, but rather a fire that sparked among flammable goods.